The Imperial Army Sets Out
The Zhou Household settled in Azure Cloud Stronghold, but Shen Jingchuan didn't dare to stay any longer.
He still had two things to do.
His first task was to keep an eye on the Government Army in the capital, to see when they would set off and how many men would go, so he could return and report back. This reconnaissance was not yet finished.
Secondly, regarding the marriage proposal from the Yan Household, the Xu Household has already agreed to intervene. If he doesn't go back on this halfway point, what will become of him?
The next morning, he went to say goodbye to the Lin Yue and Zhou Tong families.
"I have to go back to the Capital; there are still matters to attend to there."
Both families knew he was busy, so they saw him off at the entrance of the Hall of Gathering Righteousness.
Shen Jingchuan released Little Black, mounted his horse, and clasped his hands in a fist salute to the crowd.
I'll be back soon.
Little Black flapped its wings and soared into the sky.
Little Black was the fastest, flying swiftly all the way.
Shen Jingchuan looked down and saw groups of starving people with their families on the official road, most of them heading north.
The crowd was even denser than the first time he came.
As he observed, he understood.
Last time he shouted from the sky, telling them to head north, and scattered so much rice along the way, it seems it worked.
These people stopped fleeing to the Capital and instead headed towards Yuxi Prefecture to join the rebel Rebel Army.
In the afternoon, Little Black Hei landed outside the Capital.
Shen Jingchuan put away his horse, entered the city, and headed towards the Xu residence.
Xu Mo heard the gatekeeper announce his arrival and came out to greet him. He was taken aback when he saw that he was alone.
After entering the mansion and taking a seat, Xu Mo lowered his voice and asked.
"Brother Shen, where is Brother Zhou?"
"I've made sure he and his family are settled." Shen Jingchuan picked up his teacup. "In Yuxi Prefecture, Azure Cloud Stronghold."
Xu Mo sat up straight immediately, his eyes shining.
"Really? You rescued his family?"
"They've all been rescued."
Xu Mo pulled a chair closer to him, leaning in with an anxious expression.
"Quick, tell me, how did you save him?"
Shen Jingchuan smiled, his tone casual.
"That's easy. Just go to the prison, have the jailer open the cell door, and bring your uncle and aunt out. Once they're out of the city, it's that simple."
Xu Mo stared wide-eyed at this.
"Do you know what you're saying?" he asked incredulously. "It sounds like you went to your own garden and picked a few flowers."
"Just leave it at that, the person has been rescued anyway."
Seeing that he was unwilling to elaborate, Xu Mo didn't press him further and shook his head with a smile.
He then remembered something else.
"By the way, my father asked about you yesterday, why you didn't come back."
"We were planning to come and propose marriage on your behalf today, but now we'll have to postpone it until tomorrow."
Xu Mo paused, looking a little embarrassed.
"The betrothal gifts are almost all prepared."
Shen Jingchuan waved his hand.
"How could we trouble your family to spend so much money?"
"My father is extremely grateful to you; he's been in great spirits these past few days." Xu Mo smiled. "Although our family isn't wealthy, we can still afford this."
As he spoke, he rubbed his hands together sheepishly.
"However, I must make this clear upfront: my family can't afford too much in terms of bride price."
"I know you have money, but you'll still have to pay for it. Who knows how much you'll give? If it's a typical dowry, less than a thousand taels, our family will do everything in our power to prepare it for you; but if it's more than that, then you'll really have to prepare it yourself, our family doesn't have that kind of money."
Shen Jingchuan chuckled.
"Alright, stop complaining to me about being poor." He waved his hand. "I've already prepared the bride price. You just need to observe the proper etiquette, that's all."
After that, Shen Jingchuan stayed at the Xu residence.
The next day, after finishing his court duties, Xu Jingting, carrying the betrothal gifts prepared by his mother, went to the Yan Residence to carry out the formalities of proposing marriage.
This one is settled.
For the rest of the time, he would go out of the city every day to keep an eye on the movements of the camp.
The rest of the time was mostly spent talking with Xu Mo and Xu Jingting in the study.
They rarely talked about poetry.
Xu Jingting was an imperial censor, and his mind was filled with thoughts of the court. He could not stop talking about the present situation—the disaster in the south, the grain prices in the capital, the suppression of bandits in various provinces, and the movements of the border troops in the north.
Shen Jingchuan was willing to listen, asking questions from time to time to get a clear understanding of the current state of the imperial court.
Sometimes, after the elders had gone to bed, he and Xu Mo would close the door and chat privately, finding themselves getting along very well.
Since the weather was nice, the two went out for a stroll.
Sometimes he would invite Yan Wenbin along, and the three of them would stroll through the streets, find a restaurant, and have a drink and chat.
Yan Wenbin loved this the most. He waved his folding fan, pulled Shen Jingchuan along, and wandered around the Capital.
Two days passed just like that.
Early on the third day, horns suddenly sounded throughout the city, and drums thundered.
Shen Jingchuan was at the Xu Household when he opened the window and heard shouts of men and neighing of horses, along with a series of bugle calls, coming from the direction of the drill ground.
He knew that the Government Army had made their move.
Squads of soldiers marched out of the camp, banners waving, swords and spears like a forest, and headed northwest towards Yuxi Prefecture.
Shen Jingchuan didn't rush to leave. He waited until the afternoon to say goodbye to Xu Jingting and Xu Mo.
They then went to the Yan Residence to bid farewell to their master.
Yan Chongli led him into the study, listened to his explanation, and nodded.
"This Imperial Censor Xu you found is quite good," Yan Chongli stroked his beard. "I served in the same court as him and know his character. He's a good official who speaks up for the people, and he suits my taste perfectly."
He lowered his voice even further.
"He looks much younger than I do."
"Yes, I'm good friends with his son, and I gave him a pill too." Shen Jingchuan nodded. "He wanted to petition for disaster relief, but I stopped him."
"I've heard about it," Yan Chongli sighed. "You did the right thing by stopping him. With a tyrannical ruler in power and those people refusing to listen, his petition was just a pointless sacrifice of his life."
His expression turned serious.
"Judging from the commotion today, the Government Army have set off, most likely to suppress the Rebel Army in Yuxi Prefecture."
"I know, I have to go back and give them a heads-up."
Yan Chongli looked at him and gave him a word of advice.
"You also need to be careful not to really get yourself involved."
Shen Jingchuan: "I know what I'm doing."
Seeing that he was still sitting still, Yan Chongli understood and waved his hand.
"Now that you are engaged and have begun the traditional betrothal process, you and Shuyao are no longer allowed to see each other."
"You should go about your business."
Shen Jingchuan smiled, knowing the custom, then stood up, bowed to his master, and took his leave of the Yan Residence.
When he left the city, the army was still moving in droves.
The first group set off in the morning and has been walking for more than an hour, while the second group has not yet left the camp.
Shen Jingchuan released the Big Black, mounted his horse, flapped his wings, and soared into the air.
He was in the sky, his Divine Sense spreading out, sweeping over the vast army from beginning to end.
Teams of soldiers, along with their auxiliary troops and laborers, stretched as far as the eye could see, their numbers endless.
He mentally calculated that this army probably numbered nearly 300,000.
He looked down at the soldiers' equipment and flags, memorizing them.
The Big Black bird flapped its wings and flew swiftly across the official road, heading straight towards Yuxi Prefecture, before disappearing into the horizon.